A Model Refugee

Rokhsar is aged fourteen when we meet her; along with her family she is awaiting the decision on their application for asylum in Denmark, having fled Afghanistan in 2010. As the youngest, she immediately joined a school and learned Danish. Now, she is the family spokesperson who contacts the Danish Immigration Service and the Danish Refugee Council, speaks to attorney Aage Kramp, and interprets for her parents. The institutions are not allowed to disclose information about their case to Rokhsar, so there is a continuous struggle to find out how their case is progressing.

Following a negative answer, Kramp sees an alternative option: a UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – section 9 litra C application relying the extraordinary circumstances of Rokhsar’s quick and full integration into Danish society. Apart from the pressure of having to liaise with the authorities, the family’s future and fate is now dependent on her case as well. Following the news from Afghanistan, Rokhsar watches YouTube images of Farkhunda Malikzada as an example of what is in store for her when asylum is denied again. Malikzada was beaten to death by a mob after being wrongfully accused of burning the Quran. It is very hard to bear for an adolescent, and at some point it becomes too much for Rokhsar, who collapses under the weight of responsibilities, family demands and uncertainties about her future. The Wait calls for attention, with good reason, on the inhumanity of having to live a life in in limbo for years. This is illustrated not only by the endless calls to refugee organisations, but also by Rokhsar’s interactions with her friends. While they plan for next month’s activities, Rokhsar is not even sure she will be in Denmark the following day. She continually seeks comfort from her friends. As the film concludes, she is sixteen and still waiting.

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